So apparently Avalon may be imploding and no one bothered to tell me that this has been going on for 2 months or so now. Which means that the print run I ordered is not going to be coming and I need at least 50 books basically immediately.

Lulu costs about 50% more than I had been paying at Avalon. Lightning Source I'm trying to get a quote from.

Are there any other printers people use that do reasonably good, fast work for about 2 cents a page for an 8.5X11 book in black and white?

This is an ever-changing topic, but at this moment, the standout POD printer is apparently Publishers Graphics in Illinois. I use them for short-run printing (100 copies at a time) and they are fast, excellent, and responsive to my concerns. A number of other publishers here are using them now, including Bully Pulpit Games; in fact, I just wrote a little fun post in that forum about the quality of the book, and that was before I knew which printer had made them.

As always, I recommend contacting a printer by telephone and conducting most of the business and quotes by voice, with email as a follow-up and "paper" trail.

I'm also using Publisher's Graphics. One thing, though, is that if your book is tightly laid out, you may run into some slight sizing issues. For example, the closest they run (this was my experience, anyway) to 8.5 x 11 is 8 3/8 x 10 7/8, and they required a full 1/2 inch margin. This required some Acrobat, er, acrobatics.

So, call 'em and try to give yourself lead time. I understand that you're in a hurry, so you might want to make sure your layout person is ready to do some quick work.

>>I'm also using Publisher's Graphics. One thing, though, is that if your book is tightly laid out, you may run into some slight sizing issues. For example, the closest they run (this was my experience, anyway) to 8.5 x 11 is 8 3/8 x 10 7/8, and they required a full 1/2 inch margin. This required some Acrobat, er, acrobatics.<<

8 3/8" x 10 7/8" is likely all you are going to get at an affordable price in POD. Otherwise the printer basically need 12" x 18" press sheets for saddle stitch books or 9" x 12" for perfect bound, and both of those are simply more expansive paper sizes because they aren't common.

In theory, we'll be able to print those sheet sizes and could delivery true 8.5" x 11" books, however, I know I would have to charge like 40% more for them, or thereabouts, to account for the more expensive paper.

I'm having them do the book on their regular size (which from what I'm hearing may be the actual size of my current books) and then if that doesn't work I'll have to ask them to go up to the true 8.5X11. I'll have a new layout with more flexibility soon, but I don't want to leave distributors hanging of another month or three while I'm waiting on it. Not to mention drop-in customers who may not come back for a second look.

Looks like I'm a bit late to the party, but I stumbled on a great resource a few months back, in CreateSpace. It's POD, no minimum orders, they sell directly from their own site, as well as listing on Amazon.com, provide ISBNs for free, and wholesale cost is extremely minimal. I've got a proof on order from them right now, so I can attest to the quality soon.

Our book is 436 pages, full color cover, B&W inside, 7x10 Perfect Bound, and we're looking at about $6.13 per book, wholesale.